Hunt for drug cheats is on ahead of London Games

This image made provided by LOCOG Thursday Jan. 19, 2012 shows Britain's Sports minister Hugh Robertson, left, with Professor David Cowan, right, at the anti-doping laboratory in Harlow, England which will operate during the London 2012 Games. Britain's sports minister says there will be "no place to hide" for drug cheats at the London Games. (AP Photo/LOCOG)
— AP

This image made provided by LOCOG Thursday Jan. 19, 2012 shows Britain's Sports minister Hugh Robertson, left, with Professor David Cowan, right, at the anti-doping laboratory in Harlow, England which will operate during the London 2012 Games. Britain's sports minister says there will be "no place to hide" for drug cheats at the London Games. (AP Photo/LOCOG)
/ AP

More and more, anti-doping authorities are using intelligence and cooperation with law enforcement agencies to go after the cheats.

At the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006, Italian police - acting on a tip-off from the IOC - raided the lodgings of the Austrian cross-country and biathlon teams, seizing doping substances and equipment.

"We will not hesitate to work with public authorities and police forces as we have done in Turin when needed," Rogge said.

Suspected dopers are being targeted for testing. UK Anti-Doping, the national agency set up in 2009, operates a 24-hour anonymous hotline for whistleblowers to provide information about doping and trafficking.

"We've got a clearer picture of the possible threat of doping and this can filter down to individual athletes," UKAD chief executive Andy Parkinson said. "We're starting to see a lot of activity in terms of athletes being prosecuted in advance of the games."

Drug-testers have another new weapon at their disposal: the athlete biological passport. The program, adopted by cycling, track and field, swimming and other sports, tracks an athlete's blood profile over time. Changes can indicate doping and lead to sanctions without a positive test.

Another novelty is the IOC's policy that prohibits athletes from bringing in needles and syringes unless approved for legitimate medical reasons. Needles are banned from housing areas, locker rooms and training and competition sites. In addition to being used for doping, needles pose a health risk to cleaners and staff.

Ljungqvist said the quality of the testing has also advanced, with more sensitive techniques to detect the steroids, stimulants, hormones and other chemicals used to enhance performance. The detection window for human growth hormone and other drugs has improved so the use of drugs can be traced back more than a couple of days.

"We have widened the window steadily," Ljungqvist said.

How clean will be the London Games be?

"I have no crystal ball," Rogge said. "We have a stronger policy than in the past. It could be that we catch more cheats than in the past, but it could be also that the deterrent effect is big enough to stop many of them."

Parkinson, the UKAD chief executive, said ultimately it depends on the athletes more than the testers.

"There is only so much we can do," he said. "We have to recognize that some athletes may want to cross the line and cheat during the games. We want everyone standing on the podium to be proud of being a clean athlete and not have any person question their performance."